Doll walking mechanism



July 23, 1963 R. GARDEL DOLL WALKING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 16. 1961 INVENTOR W W M I M ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,098,318 DOLL WALKING MECHANISM Robert Gardel, 11 Riverside Drive, New York, N .Y. Filed Feb. 16, 1961, Ser. No. 89,845 7 Claims. (Cl. 46-173) This invention relates to doll walking mechanism of the type in which forward or backward movement of either leg causes movement of the other leg of the same extent in the opposite direction. The connection between the legs normally comprises arms or levers mounted on the upper inner end of each leg and engaging somewhat loosely a single rocker, as exemplified, for instance, by the mechanism shown in Gardel and Rogovin Patent No. 2,736,135, issued Feb. 28, 1956.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved lever unit for mounting in the end of a doll leg, which leg is journaled directly in a circular opening in the doll body.

It is a further object to provide such a unit which can be supplied to a doll manufacturer in a set condition such that it can be inserted readily into the doll leg and then may be locked in place, accurately and permanently.

It is another object to provide certain improvements in the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts whereby the above named and other objects may efiectively be attained.

A practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 represents an exploded perspective view of the parts comprising the lever unit;

FIG. 2 represents a Vertical sectional view of the lower part of a doll body and upper parts of the legs, equipped with lever units according to the invention;

FIG. 3 represents a detail cross-sectional view on the line IIIIII of FIG. 2, looking in the directionof the arrows;

FIG. 4 represents a detail cross-sectional view on the line IV--IV of FIG. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows, and

FIG. 5 represents a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2 but on a larger scale and showing how the lever unit is installed in a doll leg.

Referring to the drawings, the walking mechanism lever unit is intended to be used in a doll body of relatively stiff plastic material, wherein the body 1 has circular leg openings lying in slanting planes and in which each leg 3 is journaled directly in one of said openings as by means of the annular groove 4 around the upper end of the leg and disposed at a suitable angle to the vertical axis of the leg. The transmission and coordination of the walking motion is effected through a rocker 5 carried by a vertical rod 6 journaled in the bottom of the doll body at 7 and in an upper support (not shown) in any suitable manner, the levers 8, 8 mounted on the legs engaging freely with the rocker as is customary. (See, for example, the Gardel and Rogovin patent cited above and the copending application of Gardel, Ser. No. 40,655, filed July 5, 1960.)

Each lever unit comprises a lower plate 9 of dished form with its arcuate rim portions turned down as shown at 10. Opposite sides of the plate 9 between the arcuate portions may be straight and parallel as shown at 9 in FIG. 1. In addition to a hole 9" in the center, the plate 9 has a pair of holes 11, 11 in the dished area and a pair of notches 12, 12 in the arcuate parts of the rim, the pairs of holes and notches being all disposed on a common diameter along which the sections of the plate are taken as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5.

The upper plate 13 is circular in outline with a hole in the center, a flat annular peripheral part 14 and a dished inner part 15 of approximately the same diameter as the dished portion of the plate 9. Two fingers 16, 16 formed by cutting and bending back sections of the part 15, project from the plate 13 in positions such that they can engage in the holes 11, 11 and an additional outward and downward projection 17 is formed at the edge of the annular part 14. A rounded lug 18 projects upward from the surface of the part 15 near its periphery.

The lever 8 may conveniently be formed integral with a fiat disk 19 having a hole in the middle and one or more additional small holes 20 near its periphery. The plates 9 and 13 and disk 19 are held together by a headed pin 21 which passes through the center holes of the plates and disk and is riveted at its lower end to make a permanent unit. The pin 21 is substantially longer than the total thickness of the parts it joins and a spring 22 is disposed around the pin between its head 21 and the disk 19 to urge the latter strongly into engagement with plate 13 as said plate is urged strongly toward plate 9.

Prior to installation in a doll leg the lever unit fingers 16, 16 do not engage in the holes 11, 11 but rest against the surface of the dished area arcuately spaced from said holes, thus holding the plates 9 and 13- apart by a distance greater than the thickness of the material forming the doll leg.

The upper end of each doll leg is formed with an opening 23 surrounded by an annular rim 24, the rim being basically flat but having a groove 25 in its upper surface and a correspondingly located ridge 26 on its lower surface, the radial spacing of said groove and ridge being such that the ridge can be received in either one of the notches 12, 12 of the plate 9 and the groove 25 can receive the projection 17 of the plate 13. The opening 23 is sub stantially circular and of a size to accommodate easily the dished part 15 of the plate 13.

In use, the lever unit is supplied or set in the condition shown in FIG. 5 and is inserted in a leg opening 23 with one end of the plate 9 going in first beyond the position it will finally assume and with the rim 24 extending into the space between the dished portions of the plates. In this position the unit can be rocked in the direction of the arrow 27 to pass the other end of plate 9 through the opening 23, in which the unit is then centered and rotated to engage one of the notches 12, 12 on the ridge 26 and then (upon rotation of plate 13 relative to plate 9) to engage the projection 17 in the groove 25.

In this position of the plates, the fingers 16, 16 will register with the holes 11, 11 and will snap into said holes permitting the plates 9 and 13 to clamp firmly against opposite faces of the rim 24, due to the strong action of the spring 22. When the unit is thus locked in position it cannot be turned, loosened or removed except by compressing the spring, and that requires the use of tools, preferably of special design.

The positions of the rounded lug 18 and of the hole (or holes) 20 is such that they are in engagement when the disk 19 and lever 8 are in the position corresponding to the standing or walking attitude of the doll, i.e., with the legs more or less straight down from the body. The legs can be turned to a sitting or kicking position by exerting a turning force strong enough to cause the lug 18 to ride out of the hole 20 and to slide along the surface of the disk 19 through any desired arc. The lower plate will be in a proper position when either of the notches 12, 12 is engaged with the ridge 26, but since the upper plate has only a single projection 17 to be received in the single groove 25 it will have only one proper position, in which the unit is fixed in place with the lever 8 projecting upward and the lug 18 and hole 20 in engagement. The units for right and left legs are identical and can always be installed correctly, since each leg can have its groove 25 and ridge 26 molded in the proper place to insure correct positioning of the lever unit.

It will be apparent that the ridge and groove on the rim could be reversed, with corresponding alteration of the upper and lower plates, or that the upper plate alone could be locked against rotation by engagement with a ridge or notch or some equivalent discontinuity in the rim instead of the groove, as shown. It will be understood that other changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and hence I do not intend to be limited to the details herein shown or described except as the same are included in the claims or may be required by disclosures of the prior art.

What I claim is:

1. A doll walking mechanism comprising, a doll leg having at its upper end an opening defined by an annular rim, at least one discontinuity in a surface of said rim and a lever unit adapted to be inserted and fixed in said opening, including a lower plate having a transverse dimension smaller than the diameter of said rim whereby said plate can be passed edgewise through said opening and to lie against the under surface of said rim at diametrically opposite points, an upper plate rotatably and axially movable with respect to the lower plate, an upwardly projecting lever having an integrally formed fiat base adapted to rest against the upper plate, a pin passing through said base and said upper plate and fixed to said lower plate, and a spring acting to hold said base against said upper plate and to urge said upper and lower plates axially toward each other, said upper plate having means adapted to cooperate with said discontinuity to prevent rotation of said plate from a predetermined set position.

2. A doll walking mechanism according to claim 1 in which the discontinuity is a depression and in which the means adapted to cooperate therewith is a projection adjacent the periphery of the upper plate.

3. A doll walking mechanism according to claim 1 in which there are discontinuities in the upper and lower surfaces of the rim and in which the upper plate and the lower plate each have means adapted to cooperate with a said discontinuity to prevent rotation of said plates from a predetermined set position.

4. A doll walking mechanism according to claim 3 in which the discontinuity in the upper surface is a depression and the discontinuity in the lower surface is a ridge.

5. A doll walking mechanism according to claim 1 in which one of said plates is provided with axially projecting fingers adapted, in certain relative positions of the plates, to hold said plates apart and, in other relative positions of the plates, to lock the plates against relative rotation, each said finger being disposed to project from one plate toward the other plate.

6. A doll walking mechanism according to claim 5 in which one plate is provided with holes into which the fingers on another plate can project.

7. A doll walking mechanism lever unit comprising, a lower plate provided with a pair of diametrically opposite holes, an upper plate having a pair of axially projecting fingers adapted, in certain relative positions of the plates, to bear against a surface of the lower plate and hold the plates apart and, in other relative positions of the plates, to extend into the holes in the lower plate, a lever element having an integrally formed fiat base adapted to rest against the upper plate, a headed pin passing through said base and upper plate and fixed 'to said lower plate, and a spring surrounding said pin and bearing against the head of the pin and the upper surface of the lever base to hold said base against said upper plate and to urge said upper and lower plates axially toward each other, the upper plate being provided adjacent its periphery with a projection adapted to engage a part of a doll leg when the lever unit is installed thereon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED-STATES PATENTS 2,685,759 Ravich et a1 Aug. 10, 1954 2,736,135 Gardel et a1 Feb. 28, 1956 2,799,970 Baggott July 23, 1957 2,934,858 Weih May 3, 1960 

1. A DOLL WALKING MECHANISM COMPRISING, A DOLL LEG HAVING AT ITS UPPER END AN OPENING DEFINED BY AN ANNULAR RIM, AT LEAT ONE DISCONTINUITY IN A SURFACE OF SAID RIM AND A LEVER UNIT ADAPTED TO BE INSERTED AND FIXED IN SAID OPENING, INCLUDING A LOWER PLATE HAVING A TRANSVERSE DIMENSION SMALLER THAN THE DIAMETER OF SAID RIM WHEREBY SAID PLATE CAN BE PRESSED EDGEWISED THROUGH SAID OPENING AND TO LIE AGAINST THE UNDER SURFACE OF SAID RIM AT DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE POINTS, AN UPPER PLATE ROTATABLY AND AXIALLY MOVABLE WITH RESPECT TO THE LOWER PLATEM AN UPWARDLY PROJECTING LEVER HAVING AN INTEGRALLY FORMED FLAT BASE ADAPTED TO REST AGINST THE UPPER PLATE AND FIXED TO SAID THROUGH SAID BASE AND SAID UPPER AND LOWER PLATES LOWER PLATE, AND A SPRING ACTING TO HOLD SAID BASE AGAINST SAID UPPER PLATE AND TO URGE SAID UPPER AND LOWER PLATES AXIALLY TOWARD EACH OTHER, SAID UPPER PLATE HAVING MEANS ADAPTED TO COOPERATE WITH SAID DISCONTINUITY TO PREVENT ROTATION OF SAID PLATE FROM A PREDETERMINED SET POSITION. 